Chuck vs Pillow Talk
by AgentInWaiting
Summary: A couple of conversations taking place between Chuck and Sarah after they get back from Paris and before they meet the Role Models.  Next night now up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **What if Chuck and Sarah actually talked before having "tonnes and tonnes of sex"?

I owe a thank you to the following authors and their works which I had open while writing to see how it should be done. If this is half as good as their stories, I'll be happy.

**Frea O'Scanlin** (_What Fates Impose, The 405 Gets Plowed_)

**KateMcK **(_Morgan vs the IOU, Chuck and Sarah vs Whoa_)

**ninjaVanish **(_Chuck & Sarah Vs Themselves_)

More thanks goes to Frea for giving this little piece of fluff a once-over and making a suggestion which I kinda, sorta, half-implemented.

Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck.

* * *

"I think I'm done for the night buddy," Chuck announced as he tossed his game controller down on the table. "I've got the early shift at the Buy More tomorrow and need to get some shut eye."

"What?" Morgan checked his watch. "It's only ten o-clock man! There's at least four more hours of fragging time left. A few more kill streaks and I'll be able to move up a level. You can't bail on me now!"

"Sorry Morgan." Chuck rose from the couch. "You'll have to find someone else to be Captain Cobra's wingman."

"But – oh I get it. Sarah's staying over again isn't she? Say no more. Hos before bros, hos before bros."

"I don't think that's quite right… And are you calling my girlfriend a hoe?"

"What? No! And keep your voice down!" Morgan hissed as he looked nervously behind him.

Chuck glanced into the hallway. "Don't worry, she's reading some reports General Beckman gave her. And if she didn't hurt you over the Barstow condom incident I think you're pretty safe from physical harm now."

Morgan shook his head doubtfully. "She does a good job of hiding it but she's one scary woman, dude. Like, John Casey scary. She can give you this look..."

"And what exactly did you do to earn this look?"

"Me? Well I, uh, might have mentioned to her on the airplane that I was looking forward to having a marathon Call of Duty session with you the night we got back from Paris." Morgan shivered as he recalled Sarah's flat-eyed stare.

"Ah. I wondered where you disappeared to after leaving Castle."

"Yeah, I decided that I missed my mom and spent the night at her place. Discretion is the better part of valour and all that. And earplugs help deal with Big Mike. Well, except when he gets really enthusiastic." Morgan shook his head gloomily. "But Chuck, remember that I was your hetero life partner before Sarah showed up, okay? She has to share you."

Chuck laughed and headed down the hallway. "Good night Morgan." Entering his bedroom he saw his girlfriend sitting cross-legged in the middle of the bed, squinting at a piece of paper she was holding.

"So is it my Chuck time now?" Sarah queried, not looking up.

He grinned and bent over to place a soft kiss on her head. "Heard that, did you?"

"Well I am a spy. And Morgan, no matter what he thinks, isn't exactly discreet," she replied, still squinting at the paper.

"Looks like Agent Walker could use some glasses," Chuck teased as he straightened. "Although I'm not sure how I feel about that. She might finally get a clear look at the guy she's dating."

Sarah lifted her head and turned towards him, reaching out with her free hand to pull Chuck down again. She firmly kissed him and then gently pushed him away. "Agent Walker has had plenty of clear looks at the guy she's dating. Up close and personal. What Agent Walker is having problems with is deciphering these chicken scratches Agent Jones calls handwriting."

Chuck cleared his throat to recover from the kiss and Sarah's "up close and personal" comment and asked, "Can I help with that? I usually have to look over the notes Jeff and Lester make on their offsite install reports. If I can make sense of their hieroglyphics I can probably read Agent Jones' report."

"Jeff and Lester actually fill out forms?"

"Yes. Well, only if the customer is a girl. Their notes generally have to do with calculating her hotness factor. If those were entered into Buy More's customer database we'd have a couple dozen lawsuits on our hands."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Wait a minute. Morgan sent over those two jokers to fix a computer problem the Orange Orange was having a few weeks ago. You were in Washington. I remember them giggling and doing a lot of writing."

"Yeah, Morgan told me. He actually assigned Skip to the job but Jeff and Lester offered to take Skip's Friday night shift for a month if he gave the job to them."

"So what did their notes say?"

"Um, I actually don't know. You'll have to ask Morgan. He shredded the form."

"He really shredded it? Why would he do that?"

"Well, at this point Morgan knew I had the Intersect 2.0. He said that based on prior history, he didn't want to explain to the police how Jeff and Lester's kung-fued bodies – his words not mine – ended up in the Buy More's dumpster."

Sarah was silent for a moment and then asked, "What prior history?"

Chuck shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably and took a sudden interest in the poster hung beside the bed. "You remember those boys who used to come into the Wienerlicious and ogle you?"

"Yes, they used to drop by pretty regularly and suddenly stopped for some – Oh Chuck, what did you do?"

"Hey I didn't use the Intersect! Or any CIA resources," Chuck said defensively. "Their computers were infected by a virus and they dropped them off at the Buy More to get fixed. While cleaning them up I might have accidentally installed a program that… knocked on the Department of Homeland Security's servers once in a while."

"Chuck!"

"It turned out okay, I swear. I was able to make it seem a local hacker group installed the software without the boys knowing. They actually got a kick out of working with the DHS guys. And they became too busy to come by and bother you."

Sarah sighed, "I can handle teenage boys, Chuck. And Morgan didn't have to worry. When Jeff and Lester made their appearance you and I weren't even together."

Chuck shifted her gaze back to her. "Morgan was right. He knew I still loved you. And while it wouldn't have come to physical harm, it still would have ended in tears for those two."

Sarah bit her lip. He had always looked out for her no matter what. "Well, make yourself useful and tell me what this says." She handed him the paper she was holding.

"Yes ma'am. Okay… this isn't too bad. Ten a.m., surveillance of subject begins. Twelve p.m., subject leaves house. Twelve-fifteen, Agent Barlow rings doorbell to confirm house is empty. Twelve-twenty, Agent Barlow enters house to plant listening devices while Agent Jones keeps watch. Twelve-thirty-five, Agent Barlow finishes placing bugs… bugs…" Chuck trailed off, a dazed look slowly settling over his face.

"What's the matter, Chuck? Did you flash?" Sarah asked, taking the piece of paper back.

Chuck started, his previously glassy look replaced by one of horror. He whirled around, moved to his desk, and began to frantically run his hands over every object within reach. "Bugs, oh god, bugs!"

Sarah looked at him with bewilderment. "Chuck, what are you doing?"

By now, Chuck had taken to yanking down posters and peering closely at the wall. "Bugs, Sarah, bugs! Oh god. We've been… doing stuff… for three days and it's all been recorded. Why didn't you remember? I mean, okay, you've got nothing to be embarrassed with you looking the way you do – no, you know what? It's not okay! No one should be seeing you naked. Except for me of course. Only if you want me to. Do you think Casey has watched the tapes? Do you think he's passed them on to Washington? I'm going to kill him–"

"Chuck," Sarah cut off his ramblings, "Chuck, look at me please."

Chuck stopped fiddling with the webcam attached to the computer and turned around.

"I deactivated the bugs in the bedroom the night we got home from France. Casey and I removed all the recording equipment from inside the apartment the next morning while you were out getting groceries."

Chuck let go of the breath he had been holding and started fixing the mess he had made.

"But Chuck, it took you three days to remember that every move of yours could have been recorded? Three days? _Really_?"

Chuck grimaced, hearing the smirk in Sarah's voice. "In my defense," he said, re-hanging a poster, "every time I come in here I'm usually with you and you're kind of, uh, distracting."

"Who, l'il ole me?" Sarah drawled, assuming her Mrs. Charles Charles persona. "Surely Mr. Charles can concentrate better than that."

Chuck grinned when he heard Sarah's ditzy Southern belle accent and stopped what he was doing. He looked at Sarah, really focusing on her for the first time. She was wearing a pair of plaid boyshorts which showed off those long legs that he admired so much. A pale blue lace camisole completed her sleepwear, leaving her arms bare. Her face was washed free of makeup; he loved it when got to see her like this. Gone was the mask she presented to the outside world, she was just his Sarah. And although Chuck appreciated every one of Sarah's… assets, he was always drawn to her eyes. He could never decide what colour they were as they always seemed to change according to her moods. Light grey when she was excited or happy, slate blue when she was preparing for a mission, blue-green when she was worried (usually for him), steely grey when she was angry (again, usually at him). And lately, when he touched her just right, her eyes turned a dark, almost black, grey that he…

"What? No! Yes! See? Distracting!"

Sarah's smirk grew. "I can see that. Is this going to be a problem on our missions, Agent Carmichael? We can't have you _distracted_ when you're supposed to be focusing on getting intel or getting the drop on the bad guy."

"With the dresses you wear on missions it's a miracle that I've been able to remember my name," Chuck grumbled. "I think I'll continue to muddle through." His face brightened, "So, no more bugs recording everything I do or say, huh? Is this a permanent thing? No more babysitters?"

"You're an agent now, Chuck. An agent's place of residence doesn't get monitored."

"It's going to be strange, knowing I can do things like this," he reached out with his hand and caressed Sarah's cheek, "and tell you that I love you without having to hear Casey's play-by-play commentary after. We could go back to having our fountain-side chats. I know how much you look forward to those. No break-ups, I swear."

Sarah smiled briefly. "Chuck… the recording equipment outside is still in place. There are video cameras focused on the front door and bedroom window and a couple more overseeing the courtyard."

"What?" Chuck scowled. "Beckman still doesn't trust me? You would think I would get some leeway after I warned her Shaw was bad. Or is it Casey? I thought he'd be happy that he wouldn't have to listen to Morgan and me nerd out any more."

"No, Chuck. It was me. I requested the outside cameras remain active."

"You, Sarah?" Chuck's shoulders slumped, hurt written across his lowered face. "I thought I had proven myself to you. I know my spying skills don't compare to yours but–"

"Chuck, it wasn't Agent Walker requesting continued surveillance detail on Agent Carmichael. It was Sarah, making sure that her boyfriend Chuck was still protected. Because, god knows, trouble seems to follow you home. Can you understand that?"

Chuck lifted his head and saw the concern etched on his girlfriend's face. He shrugged. There were worse things in the world than wanting to be kept safe by the person you loved. "I guess. But you know Sarah, with the Intersect 2.0 I really can take care of myself." He turned towards the mirror and began to mimic a series of kung-fu moves. "In fact, I can probably protect you as well. Any bad guys show up and I'll – ulp!"

Chuck wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. All he knew that he was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, with his head cradled on Sarah's chest. One of her arms was wrapped tightly against his upper torso and the outstretched index finger of her other hand was pressed lightly across his throat.

"Uh, Sarah?"

"Yes, Chuck?"

"What are you doing?"

"Well if I was an enemy agent I'd be holding a knife to your throat right about now." She moved her hand and placed the tip of her finger on the side of Chuck's throat. "Or I'd be getting ready to inject you with a paralyzing drug."

"Oh."

"Chuck, the Intersect only works if you have time to flash. You may not always get that time."

"Okay."

Both Chuck and Sarah were silent for a few seconds before Sarah finally spoke again, "Chuck?"

"Yes, Sarah?"

"Don't you want to at least try to flash and get out of this hold?" she asked.

Chuck shifted slightly, brought up one of his hands, and began to lightly stroke Sarah's bare arm. "Ah, well you know, I'm kinda comfortable like this."

"Goof," Sarah laughed fondly, shoving Chuck off her. "All the Ring has to do is send some undersized brunette bimbo to capture you and we'll all be in real trouble."

Chuck sat up on the bed and turned towards Sarah. "While I agree that the Ring sending anyone after me is a cause for concern, 'undersized brunette bimbo' seems awfully specific. Why–"

"Jill, Lou, Hannah." Sarah recited flatly. "Face it Chuck, you have a type."

"Uh, Jill wasn't exactly short for a woman and none of them could really be accurately described as bim–" Chuck broke off when noticed Sarah's sharply raised eyebrow. "But you know what? So totally not the point." He paused before continuing, "Sarah… you know that I only have one type, right? And it's pretty specific? Tall, blonde-haired superspy going by the name of Sarah Walker?"

Sarah flashed him a small smile. "Okay, that may have been a little cheesy but it's true. The only reason why Jill, Lou, and Hannah happened is because we, you and I, couldn't actually be together. I thought I needed some normalcy in my life but I never stopped wanting something real for us. It was unfair to them, well, okay, Jill got what she deserved, but…" Chuck shrugged his shoulders, "It's always been you."

Sarah moved closer to Chuck, wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you. For not giving up on us."

"Hey, I had a lot of help there. Ellie practically slapped me upside the head telling me to go after you. Morgan had all these crazy plans to help get you back. Even Casey got in the act."

"Casey?"

"When you were in Washington. I dropped by his place after Beckman dismissed him to see how he was doing. He said that you were a good woman and that it wasn't too late for us."

"Wow."

"Casey may not say much outside work but when he does say something, it seems it's worth paying attention to. I was freaking out on the plane to Paris, trying to figure out where you were. Casey's the one who got me to calm down and focus."

"Hmmm. Maybe I should be taking Chuck-communication tips from him."

"Yeah, I'm not sure that would be such a good thing for our love life."

Sarah sat back and quirked an eyebrow at him.

Chuck took a deep breath and cried out in a falsetto voice, "Oh moron, oh moron! Yes Bartowski! Yes Bartowski! Oh god, numb nuts!"

Sarah stared at Chuck for a few seconds, outrage warring with a deep desire to laugh. "I do _not_ sound like that!" she exclaimed, tossing a pillow at him.

"Oof. Hey, this is a no-violence zone! Okay, the voice may be off." Sarah opened her mouth. "And I may have taken liberties with the words." Chuck hastened to add. "But I think I've heard the _sentiment_ expressed often enough this past week."

Sarah continued to stare at Chuck, a faint blush appearing on her cheeks. "Well it seems Mr. Bartowski is pretty proud of himself," she finally said.

Chuck started to grin and then stopped. A pensive look crept over his face.

"What is it, Chuck?"

Chuck shook his head and looked down at his shoes. "Not proud, just happy… and relieved." Sarah waited for him to continue. "When it comes down to it, you're Sarah Walker, international superspy. And I'm Chuck Bartowski, an agent because of the Intersect. Your relationship… isn't with Charles Carmichael. It's with me, and my freak outs, nerdgasms, and girlish screams of terror. Compared to Bryce and Cole Barker… well, let's just say I don't see myself sweeping you off your feet."

"You're wrong," Sarah said gently, "for one thing you're a much better kisser than either of them."

Chuck's head shot up. "Sarah–" he began, exasperatedly.

"It's true, Chuck. I swear." she interrupted. "And what did I say before I left for Paris? I fell for you almost from the first moment we met. There was no Charles Carmichael then and I had no idea you had downloaded the Intersect into that brain of yours. There was just this guy helping a ballerina and her father and offering to be my very own baggage handler."

Chuck cringed at the memory. "God, I was so nervous. That wasn't very smooth, was it?"

"No, but it was honest. I could have left with Bryce when he came back or gone with Cole when he popped up. You know I had the opportunity. It would have been easier. But I always chose to stay with you and your freak outs, nerdgasms, girlish screams of terror, and all."

"So you don't want smooth, huh?"

"I didn't say that. That little speech in Castle when you told me you loved me? Very smooth. Playing that 'Feeling Good' song for me the first night we got back? Also very smooth. But also very Chuck. Agent Carmichael is a nice guy but that's not what I want Chuck to turn into. That's not the man I want to be with."

Both of them fell silent, smiling at each other. Sarah eventually spoke up, "I noticed you left a name off the list."

Chuck sighed heavily, "Shaw." Sarah nodded. "Well I thought it was too soon after… you know. Plus, you were actually dating the guy. Before he turned bad, I mean. I understand what you saw in him–"

"No Chuck, I don't think you do," Sarah interrupted. Chuck remained silent, allowing her to continue,

"Shaw was safe."

"Safe? He kept you safe?" Chuck babbled as he jumped off the bed. "Sarah you know I'd do anything to protect you. I'd take a bullet for you. Sure, you'd probably gut me with one of your knives after for doing it but that wouldn't mean I wouldn't–"

"Chuck, stop." Sarah broke into Chuck's ramblings and he once again fell silent. "That's not what I meant." She took a deep breath and continued, "What happened in Prague… hurt." Chuck winced, knowing how much he screwed that situation up. "I understand why you did what you did but it still hurt. I got over Bryce's death, twice, and that didn't hurt as much. I knew I never wanted to feel that way ever again. And then Shaw showed up and he _was_ a good man. And whatever happened between us was safe. Even if it didn't work out, it wouldn't have hurt as much as Prague. So, Shaw was safe. Do you understand?"

Chuck eventually nodded and then said hesitantly, "So when I asked you to leave with me and go to Mexico…"

"I was going to meet you at the station." Sarah smiled at the grin slowly coming over Chuck's face. "I realized being the recipient of a Bartowski eyebrow dance was worth some heartache. And what did you say before?" Her voice grew huskier, "It's always been you."

Chuck's grin became even larger as he sat down beside Sarah and pulled her close. "You know I'm a quick learner, right?" he murmured into her ear. Sarah nodded. "That means I don't make the same mistake twice." He kissed her neck. "Ergo, Prague won't ever happen again."

"Ergo?" Sarah rolled her eyes, as her hands busily undid Chuck's shirt buttons.

"Ergo. So, there's no chance I'm going to drive you away. None whatsoever. You're stuck with me as long as you'll have me." His hands started to lift up her camisole.

"Sounds just about perfect." Sarah raised her arms, allowing Chuck to remove the garment. "So Chuck, you think you're a quick learner? I may have some new things to teach you. Think you can keep up?"

"I'm looking forward to the homework, Miss Walker."

* * *

**A/N 2: **What do Chuck and Sarah talk about the next night? Stay tuned!


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Here we go with the next night! Thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, alerted, or favourited. Hope this one doesn't disappoint. Rated T for some blatant innuendo and, well, pillow talk.

Disclaimer: Don't own Chuck.

* * *

Chuck heard the bathroom door open, indicating Sarah was finished with her shower. "I think I'm done – "

"Yeah buddy, got it." Morgan interrupted as put down his game controller and dug a hand into his right pocket, eventually fishing out what he was searching for. "Totally prepared for tonight. Got the extra large size, see?"

Chuck eyed the earplugs sitting in Morgan's hand. "Why–"

"Sarah gets kind of loud. Nothing wrong with that, of course, with her being the recipient of some Chuck Bartowski lovin'. Actually, I'm kinda surprised that I don't hear you, seeing as you kept your feelings bottled up for three years. I know that if Awesome ever dropped out of the picture and Ellie finally came to her senses and succumbed to the patented Morgan Magic that I'd be howling at the moon whenever we got together. Well, not the moon, of course. Maybe the nightlight? Unless we were on the beach. Or the drive-in. Where was I…?"

"Before making increasingly inappropriate comments about my sister? Explaining why you needed earplugs."

"Oh. Right." Morgan paused, his brow furrowing. "Chuck, can we talk? About your relationship with Sarah?" Chuck nodded warily. "We both know that she's the hottest girl you've ever been with. And that if you piss her off she could probably hurt you in a hundred different ways." Chuck held up two fingers. "Two? Really? Two hundred? Well, okay, my point is even if she's the real life equivalent of Ms. Marvel, that doesn't give her the right to verbally abuse you!"

"Verbally abuse? Morgan, what are you talking about?"

"Moron? Numb nuts? Last night? She was pretty emphatic. That's why I got the earplugs. I don't need to hear my boy being called names, even if he's coming up short in certain areas."

"Whoa, whoa, hang on. First of all, this coming up short thing isn't happening. Sarah's been very clear about that. Second, that wasn't her calling out those names, that was me. I was trying to – uh, actually it doesn't matter. Sarah has never done that and would never do that to me. God knows I've given her enough opportunities over these past few years. So our relationship is fine. More than fine. For the first time in years, I'm where I want to be with who I want to be with."

Morgan nodded, took a deep breath and stood up. He headed towards the entertainment unit.

"What are you doing? Morgan…"

Morgan opened a drawer and looked at Chuck. "You really love her, don't you?" Chuck nodded. "Then it's time." He pulled out an old blue binder, covered in stickers and stuffed with paper.

"Morgan…"

"It's time, Chuck." Morgan walked back and handed the binder to Chuck.

"You sure about this? We haven't been dating for real for that long."

"Listen to Doctor Morgan, Chuck. You've got the fever and you've got it really bad. The love fever that is."

Chuck cringed and rose from the couch. "Okay buddy, thanks." He headed down the hallway. "We'll try to keep it down tonight."

"No need, mi compadre," Morgan called out, "these earplugs can even block out Big Mike."

Chuck turned into his bedroom and saw Sarah standing in front of the full-length mirror, brushing out her hair. She had a white bath towel wrapped around her, leaving significant portions of her body enticingly bare. Her face was reflected in the mirror and he could see her occasionally biting her lips as she worked through a tangle. Those same lips which last night had…

"Whatcha got there, Chuck?"

"Ummm, huh, what?"

"In your hands," Sarah clarified. "That binder?"

Chuck snapped back into focus. "Oh, yeah, right, this. Well, this is Morgan's custody agreement."

Sarah stopped brushing her hair and turned around. "We're sharing custody of Morgan?"

Chuck smiled. _We_. He had a feeling he would never get tired of hearing Sarah saying that word. "Heh, no. You and Morgan are sharing custody. Of me."

Sarah's mouth formed an "o" as comprehension dawned. She eyed the stuffed binder skeptically. "There's no way Morgan had time to put all that together in the few days we've been back."

"No, you're right," Chuck replied. "He's been working on this ever since we became best friends. When we were six I think."

Sarah stepped forward and gingerly took the binder. "That explains the stickers. Superman, Batman, Spiderman… There seems to be a lot of Wonder Woman stickers on here…"

"Yeah, that was me," Chuck smiled weakly, "I was, uh, trying to balance things out."

"Another brunette." Sarah grumbled under her breath as she sat on the bed and began to flip through the binder. "Access periods, alone times, residency provisions, responsibilities regarding education…" She paused and looked up at him. "I'm not allowed to play with your Star Wars action figures?"

"What? Oh yeah, the Susie Derkins clause. Susie was a girl I liked in grade school–"

"Bet she was a brunette," Sarah muttered.

"That I invited over to play one day. Well, she thought Han and Luke's heads would look better on each other's bodies so she twisted the heads off the figures and switched them. Morgan was traumatized for weeks."

Sarah nodded and resumed leafing through the papers. "Makes perfect sense now. Okay, holiday schedules, visitation rights, sleeping arrangements… Hmmm, didn't know you swung that way, Chuck. Says here that for any sleepovers, you're to be between Morgan and the other friend who is to not to assume that the sleepover implies any sort of best friend status."

"Yeah, okay, you know what? Let's just take care of that right now." Chuck reached across, tore the offending paper out of the binder, and crumpled it into a ball.

"You sure you want to do that? Morgan will be crushed."

"Very funny. In his defense, Morgan started working on this when he was six and retrospection and review have never been his strong suits. He probably wrote that before Ellie explained the birds and the bees to him."

Sarah shot Chuck an incredulous look. "_Ellie_ talked to Morgan about the birds and the bees?"

"Not on purpose. Ellie was talking to me. My mom took off before teaching me and Dad, well Dad was never good at that kind of stuff. Morgan happened to be around and eavesdropped on our conversation."

"So your sister taught you sex ed. That must have been awkward."

Chuck shrugged. "Not really. Ellie knew how important it was and she was always serious about those kinds of things. Always looking out for me, you know? Although she did want to murder Morgan after he started calling her his little honeybee."

Sarah grinned and went back to perusing Morgan's notes. "There are appendices? What every girlfriend needs to know. Chuck's favourite bands, Chuck's top thirty ice cream flavours, favourite books…" She looked up, "Says here that olives are your second favourite pizza topping. We never get olives."

"You don't like them," Chuck replied, giving her a small smile.

Sarah swallowed, clearing a lump forming in her throat. "Um, okay. Top ten movies, top ten science fiction books, top ten fantasy books, top ten science fiction series, top ten science fiction movies… I'm dating a supernerd here…"

"Hey!"

"Moving on… favourite restaurants, favourite places to take a date, favourite… kissing techniques?" Sarah looked up. "Chuck, if there's a list of your favourite positions in here then you, I, and Morgan are going to have a long talk about appropriate boundaries."

"Okay, first of all, I don't know where Morgan got that kissing thing from. Maybe from some movie so I wouldn't put much stock in it. Probably trying to help me out with my aversion to PDA which, thanks to me not fake dating the hottest woman on the planet, is a thing of the past. Second, positions? What are you–" Sarah patted the bed. "Oh! Positions! No, I don't have any favourite positions. In fact, I don't think I have _any_ positions."

Sarah pouted. "Not even after last night?"

"It's hard to take notes when your brain is melting. Gonna need a lot more homework, remember? I could always flash and see if there's something special in the Intersect."

Sarah smiled sweetly at Chuck. "As long as you don't mind me calling out Roan Montgomery's name when you set off the fireworks."

Chuck grinned. "Fireworks? Is that what we're calling it? I like that – hold on, Roan Montgomery?"

Sarah nodded. "You know the skills the Intersect gives you come from different CIA and NSA agents. In fact, I'm pretty sure I recognize my techniques when you're picking locks. And everyone knows Roan is the master of seduction. Seems only fair to give credit where credit is due."

"Well, when you put it that way… Hey, how do you know that I haven't been using the Intersect all along? To keep you enthralled under my nefarious sway?" Chuck waggled her eyebrows at her.

"Somehow I don't think you rolling off the bed and taking me with you is part of Roan's playbook," Sarah said, drily.

Chuck winced, remembering what had happened last night. "Are you sure you're okay? You were laughing so hard that I couldn't understand what you said when I asked."

"I'm fine Chuck," Sarah assured him. "And that's why you don't need the Intersect. I want the _Chuck Bartowski _special. The fireworks _and_ the laughter." She gave him a heart-stopping smile.

"Err, right then, note to self, no Intersect."

Sarah got up and placed the binder on the desk. "I'll go through this in detail tomorrow and get back to Morgan, okay?"

"Wait, you're actually taking this seriously?"

"Morgan is, isn't he?" Chuck nodded. "Well I don't want any more surprises like that sleeping arrangements section. Though I wonder why your past girlfriends haven't gone through it–"

"Only Jill has seen it. You're the second."

"Only Jill? Hmmm. Well, I'm curious as to why Jill let sections like that stay."

"Yeah, well, Jill didn't have a lot of time for Morgan. She had the binder but I don't think she cracked it open"

"Really?" Sarah said. "But Morgan is your best friend. He knows what you were like growing up and put that into the binder. He even was thoughtful enough to help out your girlfriends. Jill wasn't interested in that?"

Chuck shrugged his shoulders. "Jill tolerated Morgan for my sake. And what woman wants to delve into the nerdy teenage years of her boyfriend?"

"Me," Sarah said firmly. "Chuck, you know that I don't just tolerate Morgan, right? We may not talk much, but I do look forward to our 'Evenings with Morgan'. He's a good friend."

Chuck smiled at her. "Is it wrong for me to say I love you even more now? It's not weird is it? To love you more because you more-than-tolerate Morgan?"

Sarah laughed and smiled back. "Wow, I can't imagine how you'll feel about me if I tell you that I love Morgan." Her smiled faded. "Chuck, I know that I haven't said that to you. It's just that…"

"Shhh Sarah, I know." Chuck reached out and cupped the side of her face. "When you're ready, okay?"

She nodded and took his hand. Leading him to the bed, she sat down and motioned for him to join her. "We need to talk about what we discussed last night."

"Uh, you're going to have to be more specific. We talked about a lot of things last night. In fact, I don't think we talked as much on the train as we did last night. I wonder –"

"That's because you were using your tongue for _other_ things." Sarah interrupted and then watched Chuck's face go crimson. "Sorry, too much?"

Chuck shook his head vigourously. "No! It's just that… I have a gorgeous girlfriend who can speak ten languages, take down five bad guys with one hand tied behind her back, agrees with me that Lucas almost destroyed the Star Wars franchise with episodes one to three, _and_ can do sexy banter? Why did I not know you could do sexy banter?"

"I… kept certain things for myself. So they stay real. Agent Walker doesn't banter much. Sarah the girlfriend banters. But I haven't done it for years so I might be rusty. And before you ask, Shaw wasn't exactly the bantering type."

Chuck snorted, "No surprise there. But I don't believe you're as rusty as you think you are. Now that I think about it, I've seen flashes of Sarah the girlfriend over the years."

Sarah arched an eyebrow at him. "I always knew you'd be trouble for Agent Walker. We'll talk another day about how you can control your powers so that other unsuspecting female agents don't fall under your nefarious sway. Right now… about what you said last night… about taking a bullet for me… Chuck, you can't say that or even think that, okay? You're an agent yes, but you're still the Intersect. It's still my job to protect you. So you can't be rushing to my rescue every time it seems I'm in trouble. Let me – Chuck, I'm being serious. Chuck, why are you smiling? Chuck?"

Chuck laughed lightly, "Come on, Sarah. I've never been able to stay in the car. If Ellie or Devon or Morgan were in trouble I'd do everything I could to make sure they'd be okay. Same goes for Casey, grunts and insults and all. What makes you think that I could do any less for the girl I love?"

Sarah rested her head on his shoulder. "I just want you safe, Chuck," she mumbled.

Chuck put his arm around her. "And _I_ want _you_ safe, Sarah. So how about, together, we make sure that both of us stay safe?"

Sarah sighed, "That's the best I'm going to get, aren't I?" She lifted her head and looked at him. "So stubborn…"

"You have no idea," Chuck laughed. "I nearly drove Ellie crazy when we were growing up. She finally took to telling me everything twice and making me repeat it back to make sure the stuff she was saying sunk in. Even today, it's 'Chuck, go take out the trash. Chuck, go take out the trash.' and I'm half way out the door before realizing what I'm doing."

"Oh… it still works?"

"Not as well as before. If it did, I'd be working at some place like Apple and dating one of Ellie's brunette friends." Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Don't think I didn't know what was behind that question, Agent Walker. It only works for Ellie and only when she's using her big sister voice."

Sarah sighed. "It was worth a shot. But please Chuck, don't mention your heroic tendencies to Beckman, okay? This was exactly the thing she was referring to when she said our private life could be dangerous to our professional one."

"I thought she was just saying that to cover her ass," Chuck protested. "She seemed okay with us being in a relationship, happy even. Well, as happy as Beckman gets."

"She's okay with it now. But when you spearheaded the operation that captured the Ring Director and took down Shaw, the highest ranking CIA traitor in years, you popped up some people's radar. People high up in the chain of command who are now reading the transcripts of our conversations with Beckman. Some of them could decide that the Intersect is too valuable to risk protecting an ordinary agent and order us split up."

Chuck bristled. "Ordinary agent? Anyone uses that excuse and I'd… I'd… well I don't know exactly what I'd do but it'd involve tanks… and tranq guns." He stared at her unhappily. "Sarah, if that order comes… what do we do?"

"We run," Sarah said simply.

"With Casey breathing down on necks? The last two times we tried that he caught us pretty quick."

"There's a difference now. He'll be on our side."

"Casey? Go against orders?" Chuck questioned skeptically. "How can you be sure?"

"When we were coming home, at the Zurich airport, while you and Morgan were getting your geek–" She waited for the inevitable correction.

"Nerd!"

"…fix by looking for cartoons–"

"Comic books! Sarah, you know this. Why are you–"

Sarah leaned her head towards Chuck and whispered in his ear, "_Angry sex_." While he was frozen by that thought, she continued, "When you were gone, Casey and I had a conversation which covered that contingency..."

* * *

"Don't go too far guys, our plane boards in thirty minutes," Sarah called out from her airport lounge chair.

Chuck twisted around, flashed her a grin and a thumbs up sign, and continued walking alongside Morgan. Casey, resting his head on a travel pillow against a wall, opened his eyes. "So had enough of Bartowski's butter in your croissant, Walker?"

"Butter in my croissant? Oh." Sarah looked at her partner with amusement. "Casey, how long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Had to do something on the plane to tune out the troll's ramblings. I have a few more–"

"No Casey, that's okay," Sarah interrupted. "To answer your question, no, I have not had enough of Chuck's butter in my croissant. I also haven't had enough of his jam on my toast, icing on my pastry, cream in my coffee–"

"Arrrgh Walker, enough." Casey looked at her sourly. "You were a lot more fun when you were trying to hide your girly-feelings." Sarah shrugged unapologetically. Casey remained silent for a while, wrestling with what to say next. "Walker… the geek's not like your other boytoys. Larkin, Barker, they were happy if you'd roll around in the hay with them. Right now, Bartowski's happy you're rocking his world but pretty soon he's going to be whining for something more."

"I know," Sarah replied. "I'm not sure I can ever be a normal girlfriend but I can try my best. And I think Chuck will help me with that. Besides Casey, why do you care?"

Casey straightened in his chair and fiddled with the armrest. "The mor- Chuck's a good guy. Smart and serves his country well and with honour." He paused and glared at Sarah. "If you tell him I said that I'll put hair remover in that grapefruit-scented shampoo your boyfriend likes so much. And not the pansy-assed stuff you buy in stores either. Couple drops of the NSA-developed stuff and Bartowski will be dating the female version of Kojak. Got it?" Sarah nodded. "Anyways, he's not like us, able to separate emotions from work. Break his heart too many times and you break him. You need to be sure about what you're getting into."

"I am Casey, ever since Barstow. You spun a good story for the General but we both know I went against orders and it should've cost me my career. So yes, I'm willing to do just about anything to be with Chuck."

Casey grunted. "You know, it may not be all sunshine and roses when you get back. Beckman wasn't too happy with you two going AWOL. She may order you to be split up. What are you going to do then?"

"We'd – I'd resign."

Casey gave out a bark of laughter. "C'mon Walker, you playing housewife, waiting for Bartowski to come home from missions, no doubt paired with some doe-eyed, big-boobed, _brunette_ CIA agent? And don't feed me a line about how you'd both resign. You know that our agencies would never allow the geek to do that. What were you going to say in the first place?"

"We'd run."

Casey snorted. "Yeah, that's what I expected. You realize that since I hauled your asses back from Barstow and now from your impromptu sexcapade, I'd be given the job of bringing you back, right?" Sarah nodded. "And being such an outstanding agent, I'd find the escape plans you gave Chuck a while ago under his mattress. Sloppy work, Agent Walker, very sloppy."

Sarah fought to hold back a smile. "What would these plans say?"

"That you and Bartowski were going to… Seattle. And then crossing the border into Canada. I'd be focusing my resources and manpower in that area. Of course, since you have _some_ skills, and most of our border with the socialists is undefended, it may take weeks or even months to do a proper search."

"Thank you, John." Grunt. "But I have a question…" A teasing note entered Sarah's voice. "You know I use grapefruit-scented shampoo? That's something a boyfriend would notice. Do you–"

"Stop right there, Walker. We've had this conversation before. Not interested then, not interested now. Being a good agent, I notice when my partner changes her routine. You started using that shampoo when you snuck out on your first real date with the nerd. The one I had to crash."

"You knew?"

Casey gave Sarah an exasperated look. "I'm not an idiot. Operation Moron was shutting down and there was no need to keep Bartowski happy. Yet there you were, having dinner with him without entering it into the logbooks, wearing a dress that I wouldn't let my little sister go out in."

"Why didn't you report it to Beckman?"

Casey shrugged. "There didn't seem to be much point. I was supposed to eliminate Chuck anyways–" He broke off as Sarah turned white and moved to the edge of her chair. "Aw, hell. Guess you never came across that paperwork."

"You were going to kill Chuck?"

"Easy, Walker." Casey held up a placating hand. "I wasn't sure if I could go through with it. It's all a moot point now so I'd appreciate it if you'd move your hand away from the knife tucked away along your back. You're making me nervous."

Sarah ignored his request. "You never told me anything about this!"

"What would you have done?"

"Put bullets in both your legs!" Sarah growled, heatedly.

Casey smirked. "Thanks for not taking the kill shot, Walker. I must be growing on you."

"Casey…"

"Look, the elimination order was a no-go when the new Intersect blew up and I didn't need a partner who was going to second guess my every move or get herself reassigned when her girly-feelings towards the asset made her do something stupid. I was in a position to intercept any future orders and you needed to stick around just in case the superiors lost their minds again and you had to take Bartowski on the run."

"Oh god Casey, if Chuck ever found out–"

"He knows."

"What!" Sarah's breath hitched in her throat. "When? How?"

Casey grunted sourly. "Bryce freaking Larkin. The elimination order wasn't scrubbed from the Intersect update he gave the geek. Bartowski flashed on the gun I was supposed to use when I was cleaning it one day. Almost made me drop the damn thing when he asked why he was still alive. I told him the truth and he nodded and walked away. I gotta tell you Walker, that boy of yours, when push comes to shove, has some stones."

Sarah let out the breath she had been holding and eased back into her chair. "But why didn't he tell me?" she murmured.

"How the hell should I know? After all these years, half the time I'm still not sure what goes on in that nerd brain of his."

"Casey… if you get another elimination order…"

"I've already told you that I'd basically commit treason just so that you could continue to bonk the geek. You want more? Fine. If I got an elimination order after Bartowski led the way in stopping scumbag terrorists, taking down Fulcrum, capturing more Ring agents then I care to count, and bagging the Ring Director? I'd shoot the traitorous son-of-a-bitch who _gave_ the order. And again, if you repeat any of this to the moron–"

"Hair remover in the shampoo. Got it. Although," Sarah mused, "I don't think Chuck would mind too much. I know he's always had a thing for Ilia."

"Ilia? Who the hell is Ilia?"

"You know, Casey, the bald headed female Deltan navigator in Star Trek, The Motion Picture. She–"

"Walker," Casey growled, "I said I wouldn't shoot Chuck. You, on the other hand, are a different story. I swear to God, keep up that nerd babble and I'll get Betsy and…"

* * *

With a punch to the shoulder, Sarah jolted Chuck out of his daydream. "Ow! Sarah, honey, I don't think that's the way you lead up to angry sex. And I don't think there's such a thing as scared sex."

Sarah rolled her eyes. "Casey's congratulatory taps on the shoulder are harder than that punch. Why did you never tell me he was once ordered to eliminate you?"

"What? How did you… oh, he must have told you."

"I'm waiting for the answer, Chuck."

"I figured that since Casey had saved my life so many times, he was entitled to do what he wanted with it."

"That's not the way it works. You know that. Stop stalling."

"Okay, well, I found out right around the time Cole showed up and it looked like you were going to leave with him. Yes, I know better now but at the time it looked that way and I knew if I said something you'd feel obligated to stay to make sure I was protected. And I wasn't exactly joking about Casey. By that time I knew that he would toss me in a bunker if ordered to, but he would never kill me. Not unless I pulled a Superboy-Prime and turned all evilly. You know, Superboy-Prime? Alternate version of Superman who went crazy in limbo and turned into a supervillain… Okay, back to the point. I didn't tell you because you deserved to make a decision about Cole without having to worry about me and Casey."

Sarah took a deep breath. "Chuck, that's the most selfless, _idiotic_, _stupidest_–" She cut herself off. "New rule. Whenever someone threatens to harm you, I don't care if it's only Big Mike saying he's going to kick you in the ass, your first call is to me. Got it? Your first call is to me."

"Sweetheart, you're just going to scare–"

"Say it, Chuck"

"Whenever someone threatens to harm me, even if it's only Big Mike saying he's going to kick me in the ass, my first call is to you," Chuck recited and then grumbled, "I should never have told you about Ellie's technique."

"I promise to use my new-found powers only for good," Sarah said sweetly. "Chuck, about running… are you sure you'd be okay with that? Barstow and Paris were spur of the moment things and the one time it was planned out, we royally messed it up."

"You mean I royally messed it up," Chuck corrected. "…Yeah, I'd be… okay… with running…" He shifted uncomfortably.

"But?" Sarah prompted.

Chuck gave her an anguished look. "Ellie, you know? My mom took off and then my dad disappeared, came back, and disappeared again. If I vanish… I know Ellie would understand if she knew why I took off with you, she loves you, but if I just disappear…"

"I know, Chuck. And that's why it's not going to happen that way. I've made arrangements so you can stay in touch with your sister if we have to run."

"How? The agencies will have her covered like a hawk and we can't exactly pass messages through Casey."

"Ellie works in a hospital. We can use that to our advantage. Not even the CIA would risk getting caught violating doctor-patient confidentiality so they can't plant bugs everywhere. The agent will sneak in and pass on any messages we have for Ellie."

"You trust this agent?"

Sarah nodded. "With things like this, yes. I'll teach you how to get in touch with her. It's Carina."

"Carina! Sweetheart, I don't know if you remember, but the first time I met her she tried to seduce me. And then tricked us, well, me, into giving up a diamond that could've funded World War Three."

"And the next time?"

"The next time?" Chuck paused. "Well the next time she told me that you still loved me. And come to think of it, I did kind of screw up her operation."

"Carina and I go way back. We've set up ways of communicating that our agencies have no idea about. And yes, when it comes to work she's a complete wildcard. But you're not work, Chuck. You haven't been for a long, long time. I think Carina figured that out before I did. And she's not going to do anything to mess this up for me."

"Okay, I trust your judgment. It's kept me alive and out of a bunker for this long. So what is Carina going to tell Ellie?"

Sarah shrugged. "The truth. All of it. That way the CIA can't use Ellie against us and she'll be on guard for any of their tricks." Chuck began to grin. "What? It's a good plan!"

"I know, honey. It's just that… I thought Carina was your friend?"

Sarah eyed Chuck quizzically. "She is…"

Chuck's grin grew larger. "And you're making her tell Ellie about the last three and a half years of our lives? Man, it'd be almost worth running to see that conversation. Do you think Carina could wear a spycam?"

Sarah's eyes twinkled with amusement. "I'll see what I can do. So, it seems you're feeling better about the whole running-away-if-we-have-to thing?"

"Yep, we can fly, fly, fly away. 'Cause you are not alone. And I am there with you. And we'll get lost together…"

"That's from a… song?"

Chuck nodded. "Lost by one Mr. Michael Bublé. Not my usual stuff but we definitely have to work on your musical education. How else will you know when I'm feeding you seduction lines? Gotta come up with a cheesy filter though. Those songs from the eighties–"

"We won't have a normal life," Sarah interrupted.

"What?"

"We won't have a normal life like you want if we run."

Chuck stared silently at Sarah for a few moments. "You know what? To hell with normal. Normal doesn't bring you into my life. Normal doesn't let me save the lives of innocent people and people that I care about. Normal doesn't have a beautiful international superspy fall for me and be my knight in shining armour. So yeah, to hell with normal."

"Your knight in shining armour, Chuck?"

"Knightess? Lady? Princess in shining armour? The fairytales weren't exactly examples of gender equality."

Sarah shrugged. "I wouldn't know. I didn't think too much of them, anyways"

"Sarah! How could you not like 'happily ever after'?"

"I always thought it was an excuse for hiding all the good stuff."

"Good stuff? What possible good stuff would happily ever after be hiding?"

Sarah undid her towel. "Well Chuck, lose the shirt and drop the pants and I'll show you."

Chuck didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

**A/N 2:** And that's a wrap! Hope you enjoyed it. One neat coincidence: I was double checking Ilya's name on Wikipedia and Star Trek: The Motion Picture was the featured article on the front page. Nerds rule the world!


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